(Reuters) -Canada’s justice minister said on Tuesday he had ordered fashion designer Peter Nygard’s extradition to the United States to face sex trafficking and racketeering charges, but only after similar charges against him in Canada are addressed.
U.S. authorities accuse Nygard, 80, of using his businesses to lure women and girls in the United States, Canada and the Bahamas since 1995 to sexually gratify himself and his associates – accusations he denies.
Canadian police arrested Nygard in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in late 2020 at the U.S. government’s request under the countries’ extradition treaty. He consented to U.S. extradition in October, around which time Toronto police laid their own charges.
Nygard remains in prison after a judge denied him bail in January. David Lametti, Canada’s justice minister, wrote on Twitter that he would be surrendered for extradition once proceedings against him in a Toronto court conclude.
“It is important that our Canadian legal process is completed so that all parties, including victims, have an opportunity to see justice served,” Lametti wrote. Nygard faces sexual assault and forcible confinement charges in Canada.
A lawyer for Nygard could not immediately be reached for comment.
Born in Finland, Nygard grew up in Manitoba, eventually running his namesake clothing companies and becoming one of Canada’s wealthiest people.
(Reporting by Rami AyyubEditing by Marguerita Choy)
